Picture it: a group of teenage boys, sitting on a wall, hanging out and talking ? and a Police officer, sitting and talking with them.

The officer knows their names, their parents, where they go to school.

They know the whole neighbourhood ? who lives in what house, who goes to what parks, who takes what shortcuts home. And the neighbourhood knows them.

Welcome to the 21st century version of the old parish constable: the community beat officer (CBO).

The CBOs, along with the Schools Reserve Officers and the Outward Bound unit, form the Community Safety Department (CSD) of the Bermuda Police Service. They work side-by-side with uniformed patrol officers and the CID officers in the Police stations, however they have a slightly different policing technique.

Instead of waiting for an emergency call to respond to, CBOs are out in the community daily performing what was previously seen as "low-level" policing: mediating a dispute between neighbours before it turns violent, networking with the community, gathering knowledge and intelligence so that if crime does occur, the CBOs already have a good handle on what may have happened. "We don't like to consider ourselves as separate, but that is what separates us from the rest of the organisation," said Chief Inspector Michael DeSilva.

"We deal with things that are not always seen as a priority for the Bermuda Police Service."

By dealing with those issues before they explode into a Police emergency, however, the CBOs are taking a proactive, preventative role in community policing.

And while mediation might play a part, CBOs are involved in much more.

"It could just as easily be co-ordinating a targeted operation to arrest drug dealers, patrolling an area and arresting people committing offences ... It takes the organisation beyond reactive policing, and beyond the enforcement of law and prosecution of offenders."

CBOs also have the luxury of time, Insp. DeSilva pointed out. "We get calls to help out with incidents or have incidents referred to us. But it's not just other units trying to dump cases on us. We see a difference between something that can be resolved in a few minutes and something requiring a longer period of intervention."

During a domestic dispute, for example, Police officers responding to an emergency call carry out an immediate response: break up the fight, arrest the offender if he or she is still there, and begin prosecution where possible.

CBOs, on the other hand, are able to complete the follow-up work. "It's all about keeping the victim safe," said Insp. DeSilva. "The issue is you've got a victim, usually female, who is already at a vulnerable point in their life because they are a victim, therefore any representation from any interacting agency has to be sensitive ? it takes a personal touch.

"If there's an emergency, call 911. But where we come in is the next day, making sure the victim has information about the relevant agencies, checking if they need help like leaving the house and moving, their legal options and so on."

CBOs also perform the follow-up work regarding the offender: tracking them down and placing them before the courts.

In the event of a housebreaking, CBOs do not take over the investigation, leaving that for CID. However, they do conduct the follow-up enquiries: visiting the home again several days later, doing house to house enquiries for information, checking with the complainant to see if they are vulnerable in some way, even conducting a mini crime prevention survey of sorts. Though professionals can be called in to do a full survey of the house, Insp. DeSilva said CBOs have the experience to point out the basics: a lock which is not secure, a light which should be left on.

CBOs can also make recommendations to other organisations, in particular with reference to the elderly. The third CBO initiative is STAR ? the Security Training And Regulatory programme.

For STAR CBOs work with the night-clubs to give security staff professional training and help police Bermuda's nightlife.

Though night-club owners were at first resistant to the idea, once they realised officers wanted to help, not shut them down, the programme took off. "It really has changed the face of the relationship between night-clubs and the Police," said Insp. DeSilva.

And the word is beginning to spread throughout the rest of the Service. "We are now definitely getting a greater understanding of our role and potential role. There is more utilisation of us now. If the whole idea is to keep the peace, keep people safe and properly ID offenders and prosecute them ? it would seem to make sense we would want the entire population of 60,000 on board with that and helping with that."

Of course, there are drawbacks ? especially in the beginning. "The minute you become more engaging with the community ? the minute you give out your cellphone number ? what tends to happen initially is that people become heavily reliant on you.

"We are very aware of the need to create a realistic expectation from the outset. We do have limited numbers, we can't be in all places at all times."

For example, CBOs are not the ones to call for a 3 a.m. robbery or assault ? 911 or the Police stations are. Yet many in the community do not at first realise that, and Insp. DeSilva could recall several late night phone calls which had to be redirected towards the Police stations.

As inconvenient as the late night phone calls may be, Insp. DeSilva said he found them encouraging. "It means our efforts are being valued. People have the confidence to call, they believe that we can do something for them."

The unit has a direction statement: "Working together to make communities safer and improve the quality of life".

"It's a broad statement," admitted Insp. DeSilva, "but it helps define our role. It speaks to issues of safety and the general quality of life.

"We have embarked on moving the rest of the organisation towards community policing. This is the way the BPS is going to do business."